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Nearly 40 firefighters battled blaze that destroyed Oklahoma City business

Published On: Aug 26 2013 10:35:57 AM CDT

OKLAHOMA CITY -

A dangerous fire destroyed a local business Monday morning, firefighters said.

Nearly 40 firefighters rushed to the A+ Auto Parts Store in the 2000 block of Southwest 15th Street around 11:20 p.m. Sunday. It took crews over an hour and a half to knock down this complicated fire.

According to fire officials, the big problem was the steel building. Steel heats up and sags faster than wood. That put the building at risk of collapse.

Crews were also worried the fire might catch the building next door on fire, which was just a few feet away. On top of that, nearby power lines were arched from the heat, and crews were worried they could further hinder firefighting efforts.

It wasn't a quick knockdown for fire crews, but they did manage to finally get the upper hand.

"It took a little while to get inside due to the amount of fire we had, it was a steel building, but crews were able to knock it down from the exterior, and then progress inside and put the fire out," said Major Chris Black, district fire chief with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

The building is a total loss. OG&E and ONG cut power to the building while crews knocked down the fire. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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